Mourdock signs Norquist's no-tax pledge

Lugar says he answers to voters, not special interest groups

INDIANAPOLIS - As state Treasurer Richard Mourdock won support Wednesday from the leader of one low-tax group, U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar's campaign said he views the issue of tax reform from a much broader perspective.

Grover Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform, said he is backing Mourdock because he signed a pledge to oppose any net tax increases at all, while Lugar declined to do so.

"Senator Lugar has not learned that you have to take tax increases off the table if you're going to rein in spending and reform government," Norquist

said.

Lugar spokesman Andy Fisher said the six-term senator would not sign the pledge because he prefers to switch to a 23-percent national sales tax that would replace all other federal taxes — in effect, "scrapping the entire system as it is and not having rates."

Norquist cited Lugar's votes for a 1982 law that broadened the tax base by eliminating deductions and loopholes, and a 1990 law that increased taxes. Both were signed by Republican presidents.

"On taxes, he's worked twice across the aisle and been taken to the cleaners," Norquist said. "They lied to him, and they fooled him, and they humiliated him. … What he says is, I could fall for that again — I could fall for that again in a heartbeat."

Fisher responded that Lugar's record has long been on display, and that Hoosiers have given him two-thirds of the state's vote repeatedly since his 1980s support for a number of then-President Ronald Reagan's tax reforms.

"On balance, the Lugar tax record is one that has been not only for lower rates across the board — he supported all the Bush tax cuts that are still out there and being debated — but he's for comprehensive reform," Fisher said.

"He's been a staunch fiscal conservative. He's been a hard-core conservative throughout his career," Fisher said.

He said Lugar prefers not to sign pledges because he answers to voters, rather than special interest groups. He criticized Mourdock for signing pledges from several organizations.

"They've essentially run his campaign, and he's beholden to them and not the people of Indiana," Fisher said.

Norquist, meanwhile, said the pledge isn't to him, but to voters.

"You can't promise to represent the people if you don't sort of tell them ahead of time what you're willing and not willing to do," he said.

LAST-MINUTE SPENDING

A number of outside organizations have pumped tens of thousands of dollars into the Senate race this week.

The largest expenditure reported so far this week has come from the Indiana Values super-PAC, which is pumping $110,000 into anti-Mourdock television advertisements.

On its heels are a set of pro-Mourdock groups. Citizens United is spending $96,000 on TV ads. The National Rifle Association is spending about $100,000 on mailers. And the tea party group FreedomWorks reported $58,000 in spending.

Outside groups on both sides have now combined to spend $4.3 million on the race.

A TIGHT RACE

The two most recent publicly-released polls show Lugar and Mourdock essentially tied in the campaign's final days.

One poll, conducted for the anti-right to work group the Lunch Pail Republicans, showed Lugar with 44 percent support against Mourdock's 42 percent. The other, for Citizens United, showed Mourdock with a lead, with 44 percent to Lugar's 39 percent.

Their results were no surprise, since the Lunch Pail Republicans group has endorsed Lugar and Citizens United has endorsed Mourdock.

Both released only summaries of their polls, rather than the detailed questions and methodology information that pollsters say is critical to evaluating the validity of the data.

Both polls were within the margin of error, indicating that if they are correct, the race is a dead heat.

A final poll, by Republican pollster Christine Matthews and Democratic pollster Fred Yang for Howey Politics Indiana and DePauw University, is due out later this week. It will likely be the last independent snapshot of the race before Tuesday's election.